American Pale Ales are generally around 5% abv with significant quantities of American hops, typically Cascade.[2] Although American brewed beers tend to use a cleaner yeast, and American two row malt,[3] it is particularly the American hops that distinguish an APA from British or European pale ales.[4] The style is close to the American India Pale Ale (IPA), and boundaries blur,[5] though IPAs are stronger and more assertively hopped.[6] The style is also close to amber ale, though ambers are darker and maltier due to use of crystal malts.[7]

Jack McAuliffe of the New Albion Brewing Company was brewing his New Albion Ale by 1976, inspired by the ales he had tasted in Scotland.[9] The beer was (at the time) vigorously hopped with American Cascade hops, refermented in the bottle, and not straw in color - all qualities the popular beer style of the time, i.e. pale lagers, did not possess. While the company brewed for fewer than 6 years at only 7.5 barrels (217 US gallons) per week, it inspired many more pioneers and imitators.[10]

The brewery thought to be the first to successfully commercialize on the use of significant quantities of American hops in the style of APA and use the name Pale Ale, was the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company,[11] which brewed the first experimental batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in November 1980,[12] distributing the finished version in March 1981.[13] Another pioneer of the hoppy American pale ale was Bert Grant of Yakima Brewing.[14]